Almost There

Strips are cut 2.5" wide in all the fabrics that would work for the scrappy back on the Gratitude quilt. With only one block pieced to 17", it would take five of them to make up 82.5" wide and long. That would make it 25 blocks with five across and five down. 

The first part is to make the 6.5" squares. Each pile is pinned with 9 squares for every 17" block. Layout can come later. What is essential, first, is to get rail fences made. However, the back needs a 3" overage for the basting & quilting process, or 90 more 6.5" squares. Whew. Cutting into strips are not a wasted effort. I have a sort of system going right now that joins three WOF strips first, cutting them into blocks and re-using the leftovers to make up another strip set. I've gone into my scrap stash to pull out coordinating colors. 

It takes ninety 6" squares to finish the back, most of which will be trimmed and tossed. What a tedious job this part is.

I am doing this week's homework while working on this quilt back. 

It is the second symbol we are to explore and as it happens, we were to select a meaningful movie. I chose ALIENS and while I am quite familiar with the storyline and Ripley, the protagonist, I am choosing to explore the minor female and the male characters for the assignment. Like reading tarot, like interpreting dreams, when you work with characters in a book, movie, play, song, etc., each of them is a part of your own psyche. 

I have the 90 squares to cut and piece so will keep at it. THEN, the challenge of layout begins.